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The mysterious, dilapidated leaning tower

The mysterious, dilapidated leaning tower

Tuesday, June 04, 2013, 19:24 GMT+7

A magnificent, century-old tower in central Nghe An province, which is widely believed to wield mysterious power and punish those who ransack its treasured statues, now faces serious structural deterioration.

The age-old, 30m-high tower, called Yen Hoa tower and located in mountainous Ky Son district, stands forlornly amidst a residential area, entangled with electric wires ‘climbing’ along tree branches near it.

Though boasting unique architecture and intricate patterns, most of the tower’s façade is now falling off, exposing the bricks inside.

The tower is also riddled with numerous big holes.

Kha Ngoc Minh, a local official, explained that thieves bored the holes to steal the many copper Buddha statues stored inside, with the largest holes measuring around one meter in size.  

Minh showed two such statues, which he said were stolen by Th., a local official, some 40 years ago. When his family suffered a grave accident, Th. believed that the tower was taking revenge on him, so he gave them to a friend, who later gave them up as he too was involved in a serious accident.

Another local official shot the tower’s ‘eyes’ with an AK-47 and suddenly became blind in both eyes shortly after the shooting.

Minh added that before the shooting, the tower’s ‘eyes’ would emit a mysterious light which illuminated and livened up the whole area at night.

Two local youths later stole the two statues after they were put back into the tower. One drowned shortly after, while the other died from serious burns, Minh recalled.

In recent years, though the tower isn’t guarded, no locals have attempted to steal its statues.

However, the tower has experienced untold damage from the elements over recent years. It is now leaning seriously due to a broken foundation and is on the brink of collapse.

The district used to boast three other smaller towers, which collapsed a long time ago.

“We can spend our own money on cementing the tower foundation. However, we haven’t received the permit from authorized agencies even though we’ve made several petitions,” Minh said.

Tuoi Tre

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